The Giants inched closer to a champagne bash, and Barry Bonds inched closer to his 660th bash.

Buried under those two major story lines from Tuesday night's 4-2 victory over the Padres -- Bonds hit his 656th homer, and the Giants could clinch the National League West as early as tonight -- was the fact that Jerome Williams will be part of the Giants' playoff rotation.

Manager Felipe Alou confirmed it before the game, and Williams punctuated it by winning the game.

Since moving to San Francisco, the Giants have not started a rookie pitcher in the postseason. In fact, the last time it happened was 66 years ago, in the 1937 World Series when Cliff Melton made two starts.

Jeff Tesreau in 1912 and Al Demaree in 1913 were the only other Giants rookie pitchers to start in the postseason.

"October is a cool month, but there's definitely pressure," Alou said. "I've never seen this guy press."

In his 18th start, Williams (7-4 with a 3.30 ERA) hurled seven scoreless innings and was pulled after Khalil Greene homered to open the eighth. Alou used four relievers to finish the inning.

Williams said he'll try to pitch no differently in October, adding, "Playoffs are big and everything, but I can't let all those emotions get to me.

I've got to do the same things I've been doing for five months."

The Giants' first three runs came on two-out hits, beginning with Benito Santiago's bases-loaded single in the first. In the fourth, Ray Durham hit an RBI triple and scored on Marquis Grissom's single. Durham exited after seven innings, feeling leg fatigue.

In Bonds' first at-bat, he grounded to first with the bases loaded, forcing the runner at home. He complained of blurry vision and took some eye drops. He could see clearly in the fifth, when his homer off Adam Eaton landed in the arcade seats. He needs four to tie Willie Mays with 12 scheduled games remaining.

He seemed more cheery than usual after crossing the plate and even smiled after getting called out on strikes in the seventh. It's a far cry from how he was perceived in an ESPN the Magazine article, in which he was quoted as saying he has several ailments (torn hamstring, aching knees, sore hands and legs and two bulging disks) and is threatening to prematurely retire in the wake of his father's death.

On Tuesday, trainer Stan Conte addressed Bonds' physical condition: "He's about right where he's been every September. Not to take anything away from Barry, because Barry's Barry, but if you go through each one of these guys and ask them what they've got, they will give you a good list. That's the nature of September. He's fought through these things every year, and that has made all his accomplishments that much more amazing."

Regarding the issue of retirement, Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith was at the game to preach prostate-cancer awareness and huddled with Bonds. Afterward, when asked about Bonds' comments, Smith smiled.